A Time Before
by NellerBellerz
Summary: There was a time before all of this.. A time before all the chaos invaded our lives. It had threatened to pull us in different directions.. but I made sure I was there by her to watch her discover new things, expand her interests, make friends, and find her place in this world. This is my light.. and I'm granting you an entrance into our private lives.
1. Her Lullaby

**_Disclaimer:_****_I do _****_not_****_ take ownership of the Manga/Anime nor do I take ownership of the characters; _****_VAMPIRE KNIGHT. _****_All credit rightfully goes to Hino Matsuri, the Author._**

_Heeeeeeey guys. I'm back for the moment. ~_

_Hopefully for awhile. _

_Anywho, I am rewriting the __**first**__ and __**second**__ memory of_ **Reminiscing**, _considering the rules say you are not allowed to copy and paste the same exact material. So, I'm hoping when I rewrite it, it won't be deleted. Let's cross our fingers. It's just too difficult to go back and forth between accounts to read. It's just too much. So, I'm hoping you enjoy this._

_:)_

_Songs in the making of this memory:_

_As The World Falls Down - David Bowie_

* * *

**_Memory One;_****_ Her Lullaby_**

**_Kaname's POV _****_(Point Of View)_**

_September 20, 1993 (Monday) 8:46 AM_

_Kuran Mansion_

"_Kaaaaaaaaanaaaaaame!_" A feminine voice called out in a distressed, frustrated tone... disturbing me from my slumber. I slightly opened my eyes a bit, adjusting my eyes to the morning light that crept into my room. I lingered in my bed, making excuses up in my mind and distracting myself with the light, sunny waves that illuminated itself onto my walls-caused from the curtains flowing with the wind and the Fall sun glaring through the windows. I sighed, pulling the covers over my head, my body sinking into the mattress each time I moved.. the pillows my head laid on -

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANAAAAAME!" My eyes shot open, hitting my head on the head board. "**FUUUUUUUUCK****_",_** I growled under my breath.

I rubbed the back of my head in a gentle manner.. _This woman better have a good reason for disturbing me.. _I thought quietly in my head. I pushed to get myself up, dragging the covers off and over my body and flinging them to the side.

I slid my legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment, regaining some strength to get out of bed. I quickly pulled myself off the bed and lazily started for the door. I grasped the door knob gently, turning it to reveal a long, lengthy hallway. I sensed Juuri from my door way near Yuuki's room. Yuuki was my newly born baby Sister, about 7 months old.

_She must be having problems trying to get Yuuki to sleep once again.._

I power-walked down the hall, hoping that the thuds of my feet would make her aware that I was coming so she wouldn't shout like that again.

I heard loud cries coming from Yuuki's room and Juuri's soft, but irritated voice trying to hush her to sleep. I came to a stop at the doorway, leaning against the frame of the door while I glanced at Juuri with her daughter in her embrace.

Juuri sat in an old-fashioned rocking chair, rocking back and forth rather violently... the chair making odd sounds and creaks... the rocking of the chair _**pounding**_against the hard surface of the wooden floor, as Juuri stroked the small amount of hair on Yuuki's head _**roughly**_.

_Juuri is overly exaughsted.._. _she won't get much accomplished when she's this tired.._

_"Yes, _Juuri..?" I asked, besides knowing why she called for me.

"Kaname, you _know _Yuuki only goes to sleep when you hold her." She grudgingly said as she glared up at me.

I stared at her for a minute, her eyes glazed over and brimming with tears.

"Juuri, have you ever came to think that... you're being too **rough** with her?"

Silence overcame the both of us, besides Yuuki's cries of discomfort.

"Can you please... help me...?" She questioned, not making eye contact with me.

"Of course... I'll show you how it has to be done..." I smirked, closing my eyes and quietly making my way over to the distressed woman and her child, my Yuuki.

She started to reposition Yuuki in her arms so she can transfer her into my care, Juuri giving me a expression of warning to be gentle.

_I don't need to hear that from you, considering how you handle her. _I thought to myself, giving her a reassured but stern look.

I continued to rant in my head how she doubted the safety of my care, as I lifted Yuuki up with an arm and balanced her head on my shoulder. Her cries growing louder from the sudden movement.

"Shh.. it's okay, baby girl.." I cooed in her ear, as Juuri sat up from her slouching position in the rocking chair and got up quietly, giving me access to finally sit down.

She glanced back at me, looking for another reassuring sign for her to head off to bed. I nodded to her as a defeated expression began to show on Juuri's face. She nodded towards me and said, "Goodnight, Son... Make sure she gets to sleep."

She flashed me a relieved smile as she grabbed the door knob and slowly turned it, opening it half-way and slipping out the door into the hallway. The small, faint thuds of her feet disappearing into the distant hall.

I waited until Juuri was gone to sit myself down in the chair. I gently sat myself down without disturbing my Yuuki any more than she already has been tonight.

I buried myself into Yuuki's hair... her scent washing over me and intoxicating my senses..

_...petals of gardenia, jasmine, and peach nectar... matches her perfectly. A clean, innocent scent... I guess I know her best._

I sighed contently, my facial expression relaxing... a soft smile lifting the corners of my mouth. I inhaled, shutting my eyes and letting my fingers touch Yuuki's back. Exhaling as I moved my fingers in circular motions... her cries starting to die down..

I gently handled her delicate head with my hand, placing her head on my arm as I glanced down at my little Sister, little and fragile, but still my beautiful wife-to-be. My foot started to push-off the floor, rocking us both in a fragile way, careful not to start her cries up again.

I started humming in a soothing tone, my vocal cords rattling my throat as I let my head fall back. I closed my eyes, listening to her heart beat in sync with mine. My chest rising up... and down.

I started to drift off.. _I can't just sit here and fall asleep... I mean, I can, but she needs to be laid down before I can lay down myself. This would be discomforting for both of us._

I calmly slid off the chair and stood there for a moment to make sure I didn't wake her. I studied her face, looking for any kind of discomfort evident on her face as I walked her over to her crib. _Wait... probably best I take her with me. She started hollering the last time I tried to leave her in her crib... _I thought to myself, quietly walking myself towards the door, slowly sliding myself out the door into the pitch dark hallway.

I strolled down the hallway in the direction of my room with ease, dodging any obstacles that would cause any kind of dilemma.

As a door way came into view, an adorable sound escaped Yuuki's slightly parted but pouted lips, on the lines of a, "Mmm.."

I snickered to myself.. _She doesn't falter to amuse me_..

I stepped into my room, gently clenching the door knob and closing the door lightly. I walked us over to my four-post bed, sitting myself down on the side of the bed while I laid her down gently, her body first and then her head. I swept my legs over the side of the bed and then slid the blanket up over her body, stopping mid-way past her torso. I laid my head down on the pillow, gazing at Yuuki's calmed features.

I started humming softly, as the humming gradually formed into hushed words..

"As the pain sweeps through, makes no sense for you. Every thrill is gone, wasn't too much fun at all.."

_Yuuki_.. My thoughts decided to run off with me again, my hand crawling over to her creamy, fair-skinned cheek... rolling myself over to give myself full access to feeling her soft, silken face.

"But I'll be there for you-ou-ou.." my fingers trailed over from her cheek to her chocolate-like, silky hair.. tangling and entwining my fingers into her short locks.. exploring the softness of it.

"As the world falls dooooooooown... fallin'" my arms gently wrapping around her, clinging her to me...

"As the world is falling down.." Holding her tighter to me, a smile graced my lips...

"Falling in love.." I whispered, her breathing mellow, her pulsing heart smooth and steady.. expressing a beautiful rhythm within her as I listened carefully.. the world of my imagination engulfing me in a soundful slumber...

_My dear girl.. this shall be your lullaby._"

Was the last thing that left my mind, triggering a wonderful... warm feeling in the pit of my stomach.


	2. Bath Time

_**Disclaimer:**__**I do **__**not**__** take ownership of the Manga/Anime nor do I take ownership of the characters; **__**VAMPIRE KNIGHT. **__**All credit rightfully goes to **__**Hino Matsuri**__**, the **__**Author**__**.**_

Heeeeeeey again. Sorry for the wait. Writers block for DAAAAAAYS. Ugh. But, I'm back to re-word my **second** memory from my old account; **ShaNeighNeigh**. Hopefully re-wording is okay. _ I'm kind of stepping on egg shells here. It's tough work and it's very time consuming. The last memory took me until 2 in the morning. But, I'm almost done. When it's done, I'll post my new memory up. Lots of good stuff for you guys. :D Hope you enjoy it.

_**Songs In The Making Of This Memory;**_

_Is This Love - Bob Marley_

_**Memory Two; **__**Bath Time**_

_**Kaname's POV **__**(Point Of View)**_

_November 12, 1994 (Saturday) 8:19 PM_

_Kuran Mansion_

_"Kaname, can you please get the bath water ready? It needs to be luke-warm-"_

_"Yes, I am aware. I've ran her a bath before. No need to worry." _I replied back sternly, drying my damp hair and flinging the towel over my right shoulder. As I made my way out of my bathroom, entering into the long hallway, I glimpsed around the corner to see if little Yuuki was stumbling around in the long, open space. _She's nearly walking now and that means.. she'll be on my heels the whole time._

A toddler, a year old, latched on to Haruka's leg, struggling to get the supplies from the closet while trying to shake Yuuki off.

"Yuuuuuuki.." He groaned, wiggling his leg to hopefully get her to back off of his leg for a second.

"Wrrride, Papa~!" She screamed, latching onto his leg harder.

"Hey." I interrupted, sparing Haruka of this torture for a minute.

"Bruh-Bruh!" Yuuki squealed, a grin instantly tugging at my lips, Haruka sighing in relief from hearing his "Savior's" voice. She unlatched herself from Haruka's leg **momentarily **to lunge herself at her next victim - my legs.

Then, a loud crash was heard from over several bottles of body wash spilling onto the floor in front of me, my head snapping up from the abrupt crash.

"What was THAT?!" Juuri shrieked from down the hallway, Haruka freezing in one place. He literally wiped the whole shelf of supplies onto the floor in a hurry with one swipe of his hand.

"N-Nothing, love!" He stuttered back, trying to keep his "care-free" facial expression composed.

"Haaaaaai~" Yuuki purred, flinging herself onto my left leg roughly. "Wriiide?~" She asked in a muffled tone from burying herself into my leg, clinging to me and digging her fingernails into my pant leg. I cringed slightly from the sharp pain in my leg from her fingernails.

"I guess." I replied, limping over to the open doorway to the bathroom, stopping at the bath tub.

Haruka, hands full, carefully placed each item onto the floor. A fluffy-looking baby towel, two soft wash cloths - one for soaping and one for rinsing, a fairly big bottle of baby body wash and tear-free shampoo, a fresh diaper, a lavender scented baby lotion, a comb, and a brush.

"Thanks." I said, flashing a smile towards him.

"Make sure to get under her ears-"

"Yup." I cut in, saving myself the full-on directions Juuri and Haruka felt they needed to annunciate each time I gave Yuuki a bath.

Haruka smirked with a understanding glint in his eyes.. Yuuki glaring at him.

"MY BRUH-BRUH. GET OUT~"

I furrowed my eyebrows, my eyes trailing down to her face, her bottom lip out and pouting.

Haruka just smiled softly, crouching down to her height and pinching her chubby cheek.

"Be **GOOD**, Yuuki." He sternly stared at her, but with a soft smile as always. She swatted him away, her eyes filling up with tears as he exited the bathroom. She clung to my legs tightly, her tiny hands grasping fists full of my pant legs.

I glanced down at her, lightly jiggling my leg as her frown worsened.

"NUUUUUU." She screamed, chuckling to myself from her out burst of anger. "I'm sorry, baby girl. I need to run your bath.." I said calmly, smiling down at her and reaching for the knob to turn on the water. She carefully got off my legs, hiccuping and taking in short breaths as the sound of the water roared through-out the bathroom.

I stuck out my bottom lip, mimicking her to try and grace her face with a smile again as the sound of the water filled our ears. She struggled to keep a straight face, instinctly trying to make me feel bad. I mentally laughed to myself.. _Yuuki, just stop. You love to smile.. there's no reason why you shouldn't._

Her eyebrows lifted, a smile trying to form on her lips as she kept her bottom lip poked out, but was miserably failing to keep a straight face.

Then.. an adorable little giggle broke out of her as she gave up and gave full access to her bright smile and letting her laughter be known. _That's my girl.. _I thought to myself, a warm smile playing on my lips as I leaned towards her and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

I pulled away from her as a large amount of giggles abrupted from her, her hands finding themselves tangled in her hair as she bashfully said, "Hee~ You're my lovey-boy~"

I rose an eyebrow at her in curiosity. "You're 'Lovey-Boy'? That's what I am now?" I playfully asked myself, turning my focus to the tub.

I rolled up my sleeve to dip my elbow in to test the temperature, making sure it's warm but not hot.

I reached for the knob to turn off the water, as it was at least filled waist-high for a toddler in sitting position. I stuck one of my hands in the water, swishing around the water to make sure there weren't any scalding points. As soon as everything was ready, I turned my focus to Yuuki, smiling in a calm matter.

"Come here, Yuuki." I said, as she flashed a toothy smile at me and slowly pulled herself up onto her feet, steadying herself on her two feet and turning her eyes down to the bottom of her shirt, suddenly showing interest and tugging at it.

"No, let me see. Let's avoid another angry outburst, Yuuki.." I snickered to myself, taking her hands off the rim of the shirt and pulling it over her chest and over her delicate head, throwing it to a random spot in the bathroom. My hands traveled down to her diaper, undoing it and letting it fall to the floor.

"Ohhh~" Yuuki squealed, a grin gracing her face as she covered it with her hands, running into my open arms as I lifted her by the arms gently. "Yew know wat I see the oder day?" She asked as I put her in feet first and slid her down into a sitting position. "No, I don't know what you saw the other day. What did you see?" I asked, having slight interest but also just wanting to get her all cleaned up so she can go to bed. If I didn't ask, she'd get upset and go off on a tangent again which will prolong her bath. I just want it done.

"I seee'd a budderfly~ OHMIGAWSH it was soo pweetty-" She gabbed on, as I grabbed one of the wash cloths from the stepping stool and drenched it with water. I grasped her chin and started scrubbing off all the left overs from her dinner as she kept going on and on about her experiences the other day, jumping from topic to topic. It was hard to carry a conversation with her, but it's to be expected of a one year old. Nevertheless, I found it quite adorable. These are moments you** have** to **cherish**. You will never know what will happen in just a minute.. a few seconds. We could all be wiped away by a natural disaster or by something unnatural. It's possible and.. I plan to be in every waking moment of her life.

*SPLASHHH*

Next thing I knew, I was soaked with water with Yuuki giggling uncontrollably in the tub.

_Better get started, then.._

I started to softly scrub over her chest and her shoulders, making my way back up to scrub her little, heart-shaped face. Her dimples very noticeable as she smiled, making busy, adorable little sounds while she played with the water in the tub, grasping and trapping the water between her hands and letting it go. I grabbed one of her miniature feet, scrubbing the sole of her foot as she let out a light laugh and started to kick her legs in laughter. "Niiiiiiii~" She gasped, "It tickles!~"

I got between her toes and around her ankle, setting it down gently as I picked up her other foot and repeating the same process.

_Alright, her hair next.._

I took her head gently in my hand, pouring the tear-free shampoo into her soft strands of swirled hair, lathering it thoroughly through her hair, massaging her scalp with my hands delicately, treating it like it could break in an amount of seconds. As soon as I felt I lathered her hair enough, I smiled and stood up, watching her smile turn down into a frown. I grabbed the shower rod hurriedly to show her I wasn't leaving her, turning the knob once again, water running through my hands to test if it's warm enough. I glanced back at her with half-lidded eyes, as she smiled at me once more, looking down again and concentrating on the water she had trapped in her hands.

The water was just right, as I crept the shower rod closer to her and leaned her head back, shielding her face with one of my hands and then spraying the suds out of her hair with the shower rod. As the suds at the top of her hair seemed to cease to exist, I stopped shielding her face and ran my slender finger through her soft, thickened locks, rinsing her hair thoroughly.

Once the shampoo and suds were out, I turned the knob, stopping the water as she blinked rapidly with little water droplets on her eyelashes. She shaked her head and reached for me, retracting her hands.

I grabbed her towel, bringing it around her and wrapping it around her petite frame, lifting her up into my arms and placing her head on my broad shoulder, looking over to the window and opening it to let out the steam in the bathroom. I turned around to stroll out the bathroom, walking to her room down the hallway.

As I was walking by, Haruka came from his office, yawning in exhaustion, but bringing his attention toward me as Yuuki's doorway came into view.

"Done, son?" He questioned with a soft smile, coming up to Yuuki that was peering from one eye on my shoulder, her arms wrapped halfway around my neck, and me leaving soft kisses on her forehead. A smile laced her lips.

"Yes, just going to get her changed real quick." I said, continuing my stride down the hallway, closing the distance between me and the doorway to her room, and entering with ease, walking over to her changing table. I settled her down on it, placing her body first before her head as she started to throw a fit, kicking her legs at me.

"I have to get you changed." I ordered her, still kicking and sticking her bottom lip out.

"Nuuuuuu Niiiii~~!"

I sighed.. Kids. Except this one is high maintenance.

She started to whimper and cry, kicking as hard as she can and throwing her arms about.

"Child, what is your malfunction?" I asked, grabbing the oversized white T-shirt that hung to her knees.

I came back to her, grabbing the fresh diaper and unfastening the tabs, gently grasping her ankles and lifting her bottom off the changing table and sliding a clean diaper underneath her. Then, I gently put her back down on it, pulling the front part over her stomach. Pulling the tabs open and around to the fastening surface.

I sat her up, making her sit up straight, grasping the big white shirt and then pulling it over her head, pulling her arms through the arm holes and over.

I sighed in accomplishment. _Done._

I grabbed the leave-in conditioner, putting a dollop of the substance in the palm of my hand and rubbed my hands together to distribute the conditioner. I used my fingers and palms to work the conditioner through her hair, starting at the roots. I massaged her scalp and then worked down the length of her hair. Once I reached the tips, I applied more conditioner to my finger tips to make sure the ends got moisturized. After I took the brush and brushed her hair back, leaving her with a bare forehead. Her natural, slight curls hung below her head. Then I sat the brush down and picked up the comb, combing through the tangles that still remained.

She looked up at me with her famous gaze, her mahogany orbs locked on mine. "_Bruh-Bruh" _she said, lifting herself up and reached up for me, her hands looking to rest on my face. I leaned my head toward her, as she laid one hand on my cheek and..

**Poke**

"Noooooooose~" she said, snatching her hand away from my face as she gasped and started giggling.

_She just... poked my nose...? _I thought to myself, looking down at her in confusion.

Her eyes turned away from me and concentrated on something else, leaving me chuckling to myself as my arms engulfed her body and flung her over my shoulder. She gasped as a burst of giggles erupted from her again, walking myself to the open doorway in her room. I silently descended the stairs to the main living room. Once we arrived at the living room, I collapsed onto the couch with Yuuki gently laying on top of me, paying no mind to Juuri's presence in the room.

"You seem to have done a good job… son." She said in a relieved, but playfully jealous type of way.

_And here we go with her jealousy of failing at a Mother. How sad._

"Ah, yes.. I have. Would have been better if her Mother could have attempted to give her the bath."

She scoffed, glaring at me with angered, irritated eyes.

"Well, I have things to do too… 'Son'…" She said, "She likes it better when you do it anyways."

"Everything I do is what she likes. Because I've done most of _everything _for her."

She glanced at me with disbelief. "Nonsense. I gave birth to her."

"Mmm.. but what else?" I breathed out.

She looked up, her cocky side getting the best of her. Fake pride coursing and leaking from her eyes.

"Everything." She said while walking off towards the stairs, the thuds of her feet disappearing as she got further away.

I took in a deep breath, sighing and glancing at the tiny figure that laid sprawled across my chest. My chest rising and then slowly falling as she rose and fell with it, her miniature hands clutching at my chest as her lids started to slowly close, starting to dose off… leaving me in a cloud of euphoria, my eyes getting heavier by every passing moment,

I started to unconsciously sing in hushed words..

"_Is this love – Is this love – Is this love – Is this love that I'm feelin'?"_

My eyes started to slowly close as I sang to her… _half unconscious, but somehow… my body worked on it's own… knowing exactly what puts her at peace._

_I believe this was meant to be._

"_I wanna love you – I wanna love and treat – love and treat you right; I wanna love you – everyday and every night."_

At the end of that note, the world and music of the night… had taken me into a slumber. A world beyond us… a world we can't physically enter but a world we can dream about.


End file.
